A Game of Two Halves
by zambini
Summary: The two leading women in House's life are forced to fight for his attention in a game of wit, passion and humour which will try the patience of their colleagues and recieve interesting results from the Doctor himself. Please R
1. Good Times, Bad Times

**A GAME OF TWO HALVES**

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters

**Chapter One: Good Times, Bad Times**

Gregory House rolled over in his bed and glanced at the clock. 6:00AM. Damn, he thought. He had wanted to sleep in today, the more he slept the later he had to go to work. In theory. Pushing the thought of work out of his mind, he rolled over to his other side and swung his arm over the sleeping figure next to him., causing her to mumble and wake.

"Hi there stranger"

Gregory leaned in and kissed her, breathing in the scent of her hair and skin, before getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom. The sound of running water could be heard from the bedroom.

Twenty minutes later Gregory came out of the shower, searching in vain for some fresh towels. Finding none, he called out to the expectant figure in bed,

"The towels Stacy! Where do you keep putting them!"

Stacy sighed, got out of bed, and brought Gregory a set of fresh towels from the closet.

"They're in the closet Greg, they always have been and they always will be."

"You know, the point of having towels in to hang them in the bathroom to make them accessible, a concept you have yet to learn." Gregory replied, every sarcastic but the affection evident in his voice.

"Turn around" Stacey demanded.

"Yes sir"

Stacy began to dry Gregory from his shoulders down, paying special attention to his stomach, back and thighs. It had become an early morning routine for the couple and Stacy realized this as she absentmindedly moved the towel back and forth.

"Stacy."

"Yes?"

"I think my back's dry enough now."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

She stood up and with an expert eye looked Gregory up and down, scanning his lean body.

"You still have some rough spots on you. I think you may need to take another shower, this time _with _the shower gel."

Gregory sighed and replied "I did use it, _mother_. Look. I even cleaned behind my ears, aren't you proud? Just because I'm a doctor doesn't mean I can't have my bad days."

Stacy shot a reproachful glance at Gregory and said "Greg, every day for you is a bad day. Fine, forget the shower gel. You'll just have to submit to a scrub from me, Doctor House."

"Why Miss Warner, are you deliberately making me late for work?"

Stacy stepped out of her robe. "Just get into the shower"

The sound of running water echoed throughout the bedroom.

An hour later, Gregory got into his car, a Mercedes Benz C180 Kompressor, ready for some fast driving. He had been due at the hospital 30minutes ago. Cuddy was not going to be happy, but then agan, she never is, Gregory thought. He put his car into gear and sped out into the street, failing to see the oncoming car. The last things he heard were the beeping of the horn and the screeching of tires before the impact hit him. His world went black.

House awoke and sat bolt upright in his bed with a startled yelp. Gradually gaining his composure, he glanced at the clock 6:00AM. Damn. He swung his legs over the bed and reached for the this that brought him the most comfort in his life.

"God dammit where are my painkillers?"

A split second of terror seized him but ceased when he found them where he left them last night: the bedside table. He popped the cap open and an unknowing amount of pills was poured into his mouth.

It had been a while since House had dreamt about Stacy. The memories came flooding back to him, despite his unwillingness to relive those chapters of his life. Pushing the thoughts out of his head in disregard, House hobbled into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The sound of running water could be heard from the bedroom, and a white towel was visible, hanging on the hook, ready for use when House got out.

An hour later, he was making his way to the hospital. It had not been a good start to the day for him, as he parked his car, grabbed his cane and checked his pocket for his painkillers. Approaching the hospital, House's attitude grew lighter as he thought of his team, Wilson and the numerous patients he would be able to torment. Then, there was Allison. All thoughts of Stacy were forgotten as House, slowly yet purposefully, pushed through the entrance doors into Princeton Hospital.


	2. Manhunt

**A GAME OF TWO HALVES**

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters

**Chapter Two: Manhunt**

Allison Cameron rushed into Princeton Hospital with little regard to her haggard appearance. She had been on one of her rare outing the night before, a blind date set up by a friend. Despite her good intentions, Cameron though that she had suffered throughout the entire ordeal, making herself not think of work-related subjects, which of course, meant House.

YESTERDAY 7:30PM

Cameron arrived at the exclusive restaurant and seated at her reserved table for two, despite the fact that there were only about six other occupied tables. Her date had not yet arrived, but Cameron was known for her compulsive punctuality. She spent her time surveying the other people in the restaurant. Many appeared to be middle-aged, married couples who had just come for a quiet night out. Cameron hoped that her date was not a middle-aged, married man. She requested a glass of water and settled down to wait for her impending date.

Thirty-one minutes later, her mystery date arrived at his destination. She could feel him giving her a quick once-over with his eyes, and she was secretly pleased with his admiring look. She had gone through a great deal of trouble for this date, as she was a bit rusty in this area.

Speaking of which, her date wasn't too bad himself. Just over 6 foot, he had olive skin, jet black hair and was wearing a designer suit with stylish framed glasses, which Cameron suspected were only for fashion purposes.

"Hi there, you must be Allison" he approached.

"Yes" Cameron answered, standing up. "And you must be James, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that our date was changed to eight o'clock."

"It wasn't, I'm sorry, that was my fault. I apologize for my lateness, I got caught up at the courthouse. I tried to call you, but you had your cellphone turned off." James's voice, filled with sincerity and sympathy replied.

"Oh, right. Well, no matter. Shall we order?" Cameron flushed.

"Sure, why not?"

As if on command, a waiter silently glided towards the table and quietly placed a set of menus in front of the pair, showing a selection of the most gourmet, yet the most priciest food available in the city.

"Well" James started "I'll have the lobster with the Greek salad with a garnish of lemon pepper nuts please. And the beautiful lady across from me shall have…?"

Cameron blushed, embarrassed, yet pleased. "Um, I'll have the Roasted Garlic Scallops with some fresh salad thanks."

The waiter nodded graciously and gracefully whisked away the menus and exchanged them with the wine menu.

"I feel like champagne" Cameron said. She looked at the waiter "Would you be able to recommend-"

"Actually" James said hastily, "I'll just go to the bar and get that for you shall I? It will be much quicker that way." He stood and made a beeline for the bar, returning with two crystal glasses flowing with champagne.

---- ---- ----

Soon their food arrived, looking every bit as prestigious as the three Michelin star restaurant. Cameron and James both self-consciously sampled the food, before tucking into it with great gusto.

"So" Cameron enquired "You're a lawyer?"

"Yeah, I guess so. If you take shouting at people and waving your hands around in a courtroom as being lawyer-like qualities." His tone grew serious. "I was recently involved in a sexual abuse case of a 16 year old girl."

"Ah yes. How very…interesting." Cameron hesitated.

"Well, you get used to it after a while you know? You just have to get a strong outer-shell for this kind of job. So, what do you do?"

"I'm a doctor." Cameron replied. "At Princeton Hospital."

"Wow. That's pretty cool. So, what'd you get up to at the hospital today?"

"Um, well, I had one of my patient's die from an infectious snake bite."

"Hm, I see. Well, great." James gulped.

Cameron laughed. "You know, it happens all the time, you just have to make a strong shell for this kind of thing."

James let out a deep, rich laugh, causing Cameron to sit up, alert.

"You know Allison, many people would say that we'd make a great couple. A doctor and a lawyer, my parents would have a field day. More champagne?"

Cameron nodded and watched James as he strolled towards the bar, before focusing her attention back to her meal.

The rest of the evening passes nicely, with friendly banter and obvious attraction between the pair. He could be it, Cameron thought. He could be the one I'm looking for.

Dessert was uneventful, apart from the 'accidental' touching of knees between James and Cameron. Neither took their legs away.

After countless orders of champagne, every one brought by James despite having a wine waiter waiting eagerly nearby, Cameron contemplated on how to approach the cheque. Wanting to give the image of being a modern, chic woman, she offered to pay for her part of the bill.

"Sure, why not?" James had replied.

"Great, I'll just to the bathroom first." Cameron quickly pushed the chair out from under her and headed to the ladies. She secretly hoped that James would prove himself to be a gentleman by paying the bill while she was freshening up.

Finally satisfied, she returned to her table where the maitre' d was waiting for her.

"Madam, the cheque."

Cameron was slightly disappointed. So, he hadn't paid for her. Oh well, it didn't matter, he was great anyway. She glanced down at the cheque.

"Four hundred and ten dollars!"

"Yes, madam"

"So, out entire meal cost eight hundred and twenty dollars?"

The maitre' d gave her an oddly confused look.

"No madam. The full price of the meal is four hundred and ten dollats."

Cameron faltered. It was too much. Where was James?

"The man that accompanied you stated that he had to leave early. He said that you would sort out the payment." He gave her a look of pity. Cameron could fell the blood creeping up to her face.

"So, could you please go through the pricing of the cheque for…clarification please?"

"As you wish madam. The Lobster with Greek salad and garnish was eighty dollars. The Roasted Garlic scallops with salad was seventy five dollars. Between the pair of you were ten glasses of champagne at eleven dollars each, which is one hundred and ten dollars-"

Cameron was getting dizzy. "Wait. That only comes to…two hundred and sixty-five dollars."

"Yes, well, there were also the ten glasses of cognac at fourteen dollars fifty each, for the gentleman."

"I'm sorry, what? You said TEN glasses of cognac?" Cameron cried.

"Yes madam, every time he went to the bar for the champagne."

Cameron's heart dropped. However, there was nothing she could do about it. James had done a runner and left with the cheque. People were starting to look at her with the same knowing look of pity as the maitre' d.

"Um, here. Just put it through my card."

"Very good madam, hope you enjoyed your meal."

"Yeah, it was great, just great" Cameron muttered.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

TODAY 10:06AM

Cameron cringed at the memory of the past night. Not to mention the migraine she had from her hangover. I am never doing that again she mentally noted, at the same time vowing to herself never to tell her co-workers (and friends) at work about her date. She would die of embarrassment.

Cameron took a deep breath and entered the office of Gregory House, pushing the memory of him out of her mind. Chase and Foreman were already there, assessing their patient files with amused looks on their faces, like they had just shared a personal joke.

"Cameron, what took you so long? You're late by six minutes, that's a new record for you." Foreman stated.

"Give her a break Foreman" House interjected.

Cameron was surprised, and shocked briefly into muteness. "Uh, thanks--"

"After all, she had to go on the date last night with the LAWYER"

Cameron flushed.

Chase and Foreman sniggered with laughter, unable to conceal it for much longer.

House, Cameron noticed, was observing her intently.

Finally, he look away, his face giving away nothing.


	3. Past, Present and Future

**A GAME OF TWO HALVES**

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters

**Chapter Three: Past, Present and Future**

6 MONTHS AGO

"I'm not over you. You were, you are the one, you always will be. But I can't be with you."

The ultimate blow a woman could ever administer on a man. The kiss of death. Gregory knew it, he had known all along that Stacey still had something for him, and he, of course reciprocated. But what could one say in reply to the fact that the woman of your dreams loves you, but can't bear to be with you? Gregory usually replied in his usual sarcastic manner, and only left sincerity for special occasions. This, he thought, almost merits a special occasion.

"So, I'm the guy, but you want the other guy, who by definition can never be the guy."

Stacey didn't have to reply for Gregory to understand. He knew that it was a lost cause. There were too many painful memories, and Mark could offer Stacey the things that Gregory couldn't. So, all he could do was to turn and walk away from the life he once knew, the life he could have had.

TODAY 10:20AM

Cameron felt dead. Not only did she have a really bad hangover, but Foreman, Chase and House knew about her date with James. To what extent she didn't know. How the hell did it end up like this? Why did she, an intelligent, capable woman have to end up with the jerks or the losers?

Thoroughly disheveled and with bags under her eyes, Cameron thanked God for the existence of coffee and slumped against one of the hospital chairs.

"So, how did the date go last night?"

Cameron looked up to see Wilson, the person she could confide in, especially when it concerned relationships and the like.

"Not too good, pretty shit actually."

"Why? Was he ugly?" Wilson asked, looking eager.

"Haha, no he was pretty decent."

Wilson widened his eyes in mock horror. "Don't tell me he was a doctor!"

"Nope. He was a lawyer. A good-looking lawyer."

"God, they're even worse."

Cameron allowed herself to laugh, she deserved that luxury at least.

"So" Wilson asked, "What was so bad about it?"

"Well first he arrives late. Don't roll your eyes at me. And then the night went well until the end. He left the restaurant leaving me with the bill. And what was worse was that he had helped himself to cognac throughout the entire night. I never knew."

"Wow. That is what you call an A-Grade asshole. Even House would never do anything like that."

Cameron frowned. "Speaking of House, I wonder how he, Foreman and Chase knew about my date. I mean, I didn't tell that many people about it. Now that I think about it, I only told you."

Wilson grimaced. "Sorry Cam. It just slipped out. You know how I am around House. He and I were talking and, I just couldn't control it. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you. Coffee?"

"Mmm, thanks Wilson. Don't worry, it's alright. I guess they would've found out sooner or later."

"Well, if it's any consolation, House seemed pretty pissed when I told him about your date. Grilled me for a full 10 minutes about what I knew, which wasn't a lot."

"Hmm" Cameron contemplated for a minute. "Wonder why?"

"Well" Wilson replied, "Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Now it you'll excuse me Doctor Cameron" He grinned and walked away, leaving Cameron flushed and confused.

"Hey, Wilson!" she called.

He turned around, looking over his shoulder. "What?"

"Guess what his name was."

"What, the lawyer. Uh, I donno, Gregory?"

"No. Actually, it was James."

James Wilson smiled and walked away and into ward 1064. Cameron grinned and drank the last of her coffee.

--- --- --- --- --- ---- --- --- ---

"I thought you were too screwed up to love anyone. I was wrong. You just couldn't love me."

And then she had said that she was happy for him. _Happy. _Way to confuse a guy, Gregory thought. So, Allison loved him. Simple enough. What made it hard was that he didn't know how he felt about Allison. He didn't know then and he didn't know now. For that one time in his life, he had been rendered speechless. She had walked away and he had let her. But what could he have said? "I think I love you but I can't be sure because I might still be hooked on Stacey." Smooth. Real smooth. Since then, things returned back to as normal as they could possibly be and Gregory tried to deal with the confusion.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

There was a knock and the door to Gregory's office door opened. Stacey walked in, a load of paperwork in her arms.

"Ah Stacey. You decided to bless me with your presence today it seems. Good, gets me off clinic duty."

Stacey had become the newest addition to Princeton Hospital in the spring and handled all the legal paperwork.

"Good morning Greg. I need you to sign these, patient consent forms."

"Ah ha. Usually the patient's sign these don't they? Wait, are you trying to amputate my other good leg? That's not very nice of your Mrs. Warner."

"Look, Gregory. I'm busy today. I'm not in the moo-"

The door opened for a second time. "Hey House, I need you to look over this patient's charts." Cameron stopped short, seeing Stacey and Gregory together. "Oh, good morning Mrs. Warner. Sorry, I'll come back another time."

"No, it's alright." Gregory said. "Stacey was just leaving." He looked at the chart in Cameron's hands. "Gimme, gimme, gimme." Skimming over the sheets her declared.

"Diabetes. Start him on a insulin drip."

"Well, it was nice seeing you Greg." Stacey said. "And you too Doctor Cameron. Have a good day, the both of you." She walked out the door, leaving House and Cameron alone.

"Well, I had better get onto that drip." Cameron said. "I should have known it was diabetes. I was just distracted. Having a bad day."

"Yeah, I've seen bums that look better than you." House replied.

"Hey, that's a bit rich coming from a mobility-challenged cripple." Cameron challenged.

"Ouch. Hey, at least I'm handsome. Have women drooling all over me, especially that Cuddy. So…got any more hot dates lined up with more bigshot lawyers?"

Cameron's face burned. "No, no more dates for a while. What about you?"

"Hot dates with lawyers? I don't think so. Can't stand the type. Besides, I am a cripple after all, I am way outta they're league."

"Well, Chase and Foreman wanted to go out for some drinks after our shifts. Are you coming?" Cameron asked.

"Hmm, I have a better idea. Let's all go running."

Seeing Cameron's face, Gregory softened slightly.

"Actually, I have to get home tonight. The O.C. is on. Mischa is a hot young thing don't you think? You should start watching it."

"I can't. I don't have a television. It broke." Cameron said.

"My God. That is scandalous. There's only one thing for it."

"What?" she asked.

"You have to come over at seven tonight. As long as you don't mind macaroni and cheese. I only have limited cooking skills."

"Are you serious?" Cameron asked, slightly off balance.

"Of course I'm not, but I'll expect you there at seven. Now shoo!"

Bewildered, Cameron walked out of House's office with a look of elation on her face.

Gregory lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. What have I just done?

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

_Lol, the best I could do at the moment. Please review, I would really appreciate all the feedback and advice I can get. Thanks for all those who have already done so, greatly appreciated._


	4. May the Awkwardness Begin

Chapter 4 May the Awkwardness Begin

Cameron stood outside the doorstep of House's apartment with the standard bottle of wine that was expected of a guest. She hesitated. What was she doing? He obviously didn't seriously want her to come. He hadn't even given her his address. She had had to snoop around in the personal files to find it out. And she had also found out some interesting facts about House that she had planned to use during the night. But now…maybe he didn't want her here. I mean, he was lying on the floor when he invited me over. She turned around and was about to walk back downstairs when the door was flung open.

"Jesus Cameron, you make a lot of noise when you dawdle outside. Either come in or leave the wine on the floor and back away."

Cameron hesitated. God he was good looking, dressed casually in jeans and a deep blue vintage t-shirt that set off his eyes. So casual yet so effective. How could a girl resist? She entered cautiously, into the territory that was House.

House backed away to give her some room to step inside. He knew she would come. They were always so predictable, if not extremely intellectual and talented. That was why he had chosen his attired carefully, browsing through his numerous shirts until the blue Rolling Stones one caught his eye. Classic. It was Stacy's favorite, that was before the incident. He pushed the thought of Stacy from his mind and focused his attention to Cameron. She was gorgeous, wearing an understated black dress that clung in all the right places. But she was looking self conscious. Time to act.

"Well, take a seat. Welcome to my humble abode."

Cameron sat on the stylish bar stool and handed the bottle of wine to House, whose hand was outstretched, receiving the bottle.

"Well. Dinner is almost ready. As I said before, it's Mac and cheese."

"That's good. Uh, do you need any help or anything?" enquired Cameron. This was a somewhat awkward situation. She found herself in her superior's apartment chatting about macaroni and cheese.

"No, I'm nearly finished. Just need to boil this in water for a few minutes and voila!"

House help up the sachet of instant macaroni and cheese and the tension Cameron felt began to slowly evaporate.

"That's you're idea of a dinner? Instant macaroni and cheese?" She raised a questioning eyebrow with a hint of a smile, disarming House ever so slightly.

"'Tis the food of the intellects madam." He replied. "If you really want to help you can open the wine, the glasses are over there."

Cameron slid off her chair, her skirt hitching itself up in the process, revealing bare thigh, something that House noticed. Greatly.

"It's to early for you to try and seduce me Dr. Cameron." He took pleasure in seeing her flush.

"Well Charles, I think this wine would help the process greatly don't you think? That is your name isn't it? Gregory Charles House? Nice." Now it was House's turn to cringe. The banter was amusing both parties.

"Macaroni's done, and the OC is starting, which means we'll have to eat in front of the tv. You can help me take the food over, one of the many joys of being a cripple. Personal slaves."

Once seated comfortably in front of the tv, with a reasonable distance between them, House began to explain to Cameron each and every character and their purpose in the show.

"Now that, is Mischa Barton. I'm pretty sure she gets killed off at the end of this season thought. Shame."

Cameron laughed and was bewildered at how someone like House could be so transfixed by a teenage drama series. He didn't even hear the knock at the door the first time.

"Don't worry, I'll get the door. You know, you being a cripple and all."

"Hey! What's with all the cripple jokes lately? Besides, I'm not expecting anyone so just tell them to get lost."

The laugh was still lingering on her face when Cameron opened the door, expecting Wilson. Just a quickly, her smile faded into a dumb sort of shocked look. There was silence apart from the faint sounds from the tv.

"Hello Allison."

House could hear voices. He swiveled around to get a better look at the guest.

"Who is…."

Stacy was standing at the door, next to a stunned looking Cameron. Shit. Of all the people…

"Hello Greg" she said.

"Stacy…what are you…? What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk, Greg. It's important."

Cameron startled in action. "I, I should go." She moved to get her bag.

House said "that won't be necessary" the same time Stacy said "Yes, would you?" They stopped and looked at each other, trying to decipher the other feelings, the others intentions.

Cameron was disorientated and shocked and many feelings that she couldn't describe. "I'll see you tomorrow Dr. House." She left before he could say anything. He was probably too shocked to say anything anyway, judging from his appearance. She felt sick and cheated. Of all the days and of all the people…

She stumbled outside and hailed a taxi, leaving Gregory and Stacy awkward and alone in his apartment, with her half eaten macaroni and cheese lying unnoticed on the coffee table in front of the tv.


End file.
